My Band of Fathers
by dudeurfugly
Summary: A frightened seven year old girl is rescued during the D-Day invasion, and after learning to trust the paratroopers, Easy Company gets one little timid yet stubborn stowaway. And they end up getting more attached than they originally planned...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Band of Brothers. This is a work of fiction based upon the characters in the miniseries, and I mean no disrespect whatsoever to the real soldiers.**

**A/N: I've seen a lot of OC stories within this fandom, but I haven't seen anything quite like this. We all know what Easy Company's perspective is during the war, and so I wanted to take a much different perspective on it. I just decided to post it, to see what everyone thought. I'm always worried about posting something new in a category where there's so much amazing talent. Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER ONE**

Noisy booms like fireworks woke me up in the middle of the night. They started off far away and then they got closer and much louder. It reminded me of a thunderstorm almost. I pulled off the quilt Amelie had draped over the blankets while she had tucked me in a little while go and scrambled to the end of the bed. I sat on my knees and pushed the curtains back to get a look, which is when I discovered it wasn't fireworks or thunder at all. There wasn't anything pretty about the bombs and the fire that seemed so high I thought it could reach the stars.

I think there were people screaming outside. I could have mistaken the screaming for that horrible noise the bombs made before they hit the ground and exploded because they sounded the same. I don't think I'll ever forget that sound. It made me cover my ears and squeeze my eyes shut tightly and I didn't like it one bit.

Amelie burst into the room a second later and the look on her face made my stomach twist in that uncomfortable way whenever I got scared or nervous. I wrapped my arms across my belly, wishing it would stop.

"Charlotte," she called with panic, "Hurry up and get your things."

Her voice had a beautiful French accent, although it was a little hard to understand her. I liked the way she said my name. Sometimes I wished I had an accent as pretty as Amelie's. The people in town kept telling me I had an accent but I never heard it and they seemed to think it was the funniest thing ever. Why could I hear their accents but when I listened to myself talk, I sounded just like I always did?

I'd only spent about a month with her so I was still getting used to it and her English wasn't very good, either. She told me she had started learning some before her trip to Chicago, and then when she found me, she wanted to try and get better. She felt bad about how difficult it was for us to talk to each other, but I didn't want her to feel bad because it wasn't her fault.

I still had that queasy feeling as I got up and grabbed my knapsack from the trunk at the foot of the bed. Amelie told me to have one ready in case of an emergency. I never thought about actually having to use it, and I never asked what it was supposed to be for.

She helped me into my coat, kneeling on the floor in front of me. I didn't have time to change out my nightgown, but I had extra clothes packed. She took a hold of my arms and looked at me sadly. I hadn't noticed until then that she had been crying. I'd never seen Amelie acting this way, and I decided I didn't like it. I missed her smile—the one she had when she first met me. The one she had when she told me she was going to give me a proper home. Her smile was the kind that made her eyes sparkle. I wondered if my mother had a smile like Amelie's.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Until that point, I was worried my voice had forgotten how to work.

"I'm so sorry, _cherie_," she answered. I always forgot what that meant but it sounded nice. She liked to call me it a lot so I figured it couldn't be too bad. "Forgive me. I tried to give you better. And now look where we are."

"It's okay," I told her, although I wasn't sure why she was saying sorry. It just seemed like the right thing to say.

"I promised to take you to Paris," she said. "I'm sorry. So sorry…"

Why was she so sorry? Couldn't we still go to Paris?

A bomb whistled, exploding so close to the house that the entire thing shook like we were caught in the middle of an earthquake. Even though I had never been in an earthquake before, I'd heard stories about what they were supposed to be like. I lost my balance and toppled into Amelie's arms. She hugged me close. She quieted a small cry that managed to escape me by running her fingers through my hair, and then pulled me away to press a kiss onto my cheek.

Then, she pulled out something from her pocket. It was one of the ribbons I liked to wear and it was almost as green as her eyes. She tied it in my hair and tried to smile.

Amelie stood, taking my hand. "You must move quickly," she said, leading me out of the room and into the hallway. The house had one floor so it was easy to get everywhere fast. "Once you have gone out the back door, keep running and do not stop—not for anything. Do you understand, Charlotte?"

I raised one of my eyebrows. "But what about you?"

She didn't look at me. She just kept tugging me along, through the living room and into the kitchen to the back door.

"I want you to get out of here."

I blinked, feeling tears in my eyes. I thought Amelie loved me and she was going to keep me here in France with her so I didn't have to go back to Chicago ever again. I didn't want to go back to Chicago. Even if Amelie wanted me to go away, I would run so far no one from Chicago would be able to find me.

She opened the door as the house shook from another bomb. Further away, I could hear guns. It seemed so fast I thought it would never stop. I turned around and threw myself at her, grabbing the front of her dress.

"I don't wanna go!" I cried. She wrapped her arms around me. I thought of one of the stars in the sky and wished with all my might that she wouldn't let go.

"You must be brave," Amelie replied.

I didn't know how to be brave. How come those bombs kept falling from the sky? Why was Amelie trying to make me go out there in the dark with the fire and the planes? What if one of the bombs dropped right on my head?

"I don't wanna go outside!" I protested. My face was buried in Amelie's dress, too. She smelled like flowers but I didn't know which kind. I hoped I could remember that smell and Amelie's smile that made her eyes twinkle if she was really making me go away.

"I know, _cherie_," she said. "I'll be right behind you."

I felt a tiny bit better knowing she would be coming with me. At least she wasn't going to make me go back to Chicago.

I looked up at her. "Promise?"

She sniffled. "Yes, I promise."

She gave me a little shove out the door because my feet were almost glued in place. When I stepped outside onto the grass, my legs were shaking. I didn't know if they would be able to hold me up. I peeked past the house and noticed the smoke and flames rising into the air, making the sky glow in a way that made me shiver. Buildings and people's homes were being destroyed all around us. It made my stomach do that uncomfortable flip-flop just wondering if people had been inside those places when they were hit.

A plane flew over my head, its engine roaring. Yet another explosion caused the ground to quake and the house diagonal to Amelie's crumbled. I knew the family who lived there. When Amelie brought me home, they came to visit and brought us dessert to welcome me. I don't remember their last name since it was hard to pronounce, but the mom was a great cook and made these things called crepes which I'd never had before. They had a kid, Julien, who was my age.

I looked at Amelie. She was still in the doorway. Why wasn't she moving?

"Go, Charlotte!" she yelled.

My feet were stuck again and my legs were still shaking but I started running anyway. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to know if the nice lady with the crepes and her husband and Julien had gotten out of their house and I wanted to know why Amelie wasn't following me.

There were fields with grass and bushes that were taller than me behind Amelie's house. It seemed like they could go on forever, but when Amelie and me took walks in them, she told me they didn't, that they had to stop sometime. It was hard to believe.

I could sort of see the house from in between the grass. I stood up on my tip-toes to see it better. The sky was red and the flames were still eating up Julien's house and Amelie kept standing there, watching me. But she said…she said she would be right there. Maybe she was giving me a head start because she was a grown-up and her legs could move a lot better than mine.

"Amelie!" I shouted. There was so much noise everywhere. I don't think she could hear me. I know she told me to run and not look back, but she wasn't leaving. I couldn't guess about how much of a head start she wanted me to take. How could I run when she wasn't? We would get separated in the fields and we wouldn't be able to find each other.

I ran and peeped behind my shoulder as I continued moving. It kind of looked like Amelie was getting ready to leave. Maybe she saw me and decided I was far enough away. The house looked smaller now. Not ant-sized, but small enough that I could hold my hand up and cover the whole thing, like when the Sisters at the orphanage played peek-a-boo with the little babies.

"Come on!" I yelled. I motioned for her to follow, like she'd promised.

But then the house was gone.

One second it was there and the next it looked like Julien's. I had just seen it all in one piece, with its windows and bricks and doors and the little garden in the back under the kitchen window where Amelie let me plant seeds for flowers on my second day staying here. She'd called it "a new beginning." She said the seeds would find a home in the dirt and spring up into new, beautiful flowers just like she knew I would be happy with her in a new place to call home. She said she would enjoy watching me grow like the flowers would.

I suddenly remembered that the flowers Amelie smelled of were the ones I'd planted.

Now there were no more flowers. The house was in tiny pieces all over the place except for a huge chunk of it where the front door was. There was all this smoke and some fire shooting up from the piles of broken house and the entire back of it was missing. I couldn't find Amelie. I got up on my tip-toes and jumped up a few times to see if she was running toward me, but I couldn't find her. Where did she go?

She was right there! Where…

I wanted to run and find her. She couldn't have… She told me to keep going and that she'd be right behind me. She promised! I got up on my tip-toes again even though my legs felt wobbly and my stomach was getting all funny. I searched the smoke and the flames and the broken house and the flowers that were missing. But Amelie was missing, too. She wasn't anywhere that I could see, even when I squinted my eyes and tried to look harder. Where did Amelie…

There was this weird feeling at the back of my throat and in my eyes. I started to cry, and my feet were stuck yet again. I think the planes were going away but the sound of the guns hadn't stopped. Why did the planes want to destroy Julien's house when he was just a kid like me and they were a nice family with a mom would liked to cook? Why did the planes take away Amelie's little garden with the flowers we planted together? Wherever the flowers went, did Amelie go with them?

"Amelie!" I called. My voice sounded strange because I was crying. It felt like I'd never be able to stop. "Amelie!"

She was gone. How could she be standing there one moment and be missing right after I blinked?

I couldn't move, but I had to. Amelie had told me I had to. She said to keep running, so I turned around, picked up my feet, and ran. I could feel the hot tears rolling down my cheeks as I moved. My knapsack kept bouncing and hitting my back. I wanted to take another peek at the house just in case Amelie was there and I didn't see her by accident, but now my feet decided to continue working for once. I was glad they were doing what they were supposed to, and I was glad I didn't try to look back because I knew I would probably cry more.

Suddenly, I went tumbling face-first into the dirt. My feet were running so fast and I wasn't paying attention to where they were going, so I didn't notice there was a rock and a small ditch in the way. I fell on my hands and knees, almost smacking my forehead on a larger rock in front of me. Brushing off my hands, I picked myself up and realized there was a stinging kind of pain coming from both my knees. I knew this kind of pain—I'd felt it before. It was when we were on the playground at the park in Chicago, right after I got pushed down the slide and went down it a little too fast. The dirt and gravel had scraped up my knees. I glanced down and could tell they had brush-burns on them. The wind made them sting really badly, and since I didn't have time to see if I had a band-aid, I had to keep running. I think the running made it worse.

I did what Amelie told me to, though. I couldn't stop…except, I didn't know where to go. Amelie had never explained it. She said keep running…but to where? On our walks, we had never gone out this far and even though she had told me the fields did have an end, walking through them now I did not understand how she could say that. I had gone so far that I had to stop—only for a minute—to catch my breath and remind myself which direction I was supposed to go in. I noticed the fields had a forest to the right. Amelie laughed when she said the forest was what really seemed like it went on forever. But she also warned me not to go into the forest. Not ever. What was I supposed to do?

The forest was dark and scary-looking. I remembered all the fairy tales the Sisters read to us and a lot of them had forests like this one. Most of them were creepy. I didn't know what came after the forest. Where would I end up? I was getting tired and my feet were hurting. I guess I'd been walking for a lot longer than I thought, because I couldn't see the house anymore. That made me a little sad. I could only notice the smoke and the red-black sky.

I decided to go to the forest anyway. I hoped Amelie wouldn't be mad at me, but I was only trying to do what she told me to. I figured the trees were big and scary enough that they would hide me from the planes so a bomb wouldn't drop on my head. I didn't want that to happen. They scared me the most. Their screaming hurt my ears and made my belly hurt.

Maybe the creepy forest would scare the planes away.

I couldn't run anymore so I switched to walking instead. My feet and legs were achy, and the scrapes on my knees felt worse than before. I wished Amelie was here to clean them up and put a bandage over it. I needed her to kiss it to make it better because that's what the Sisters did at the orphanage when I fell last time.

I don't know how long I walked in the forest, but I couldn't see a way out. I couldn't remember where I came from, so I guess I had no choice but to keep going. I think it might have been my imagination, but it was getting darker. When was the sun going to get up? I hoped it would soon. I wondered if the planes had scared the sun so badly it didn't want to come out of its hiding place. I know I wouldn't.

There was that noise again—the booms, the same ones that woke me up. But they sounded a little farther away this time. Were the planes coming back? Worried, I picked up my pace although my legs were burning. I prayed they weren't coming to get me. As I ran, I peeked up at the inky sky through the leaves of the trees. Up ahead past the tops of the branches, the sky was filled with flashes of light. I thought it was actually a thunderstorm. Maybe it was, but I wasn't too sure. It sounded like the bombs and the planes but it looked a little different, so maybe I was getting my sounds mixed up again.

Then I squinted to see better and that's when I noticed that something was falling from the sky where the flashes were. Actually, it was a lot of somethings. They looked like ants with little mushroom-umbrellas attached to them. I don't know what the heck they could be! I didn't think it was the bombs, although some of those were falling, too. When these ants with mushroom-umbrellas that could fly landed on the ground, they didn't cause smoke and fire. I'm sure they didn't ruin Amelie's little garden, either. But what if they were meaner than the planes? What if they found me?

My eyes got all prickly, but I made the tears stay in them. I didn't know about these flying mushroom-umbrella ants, but I couldn't turn around and go back to the house. Amelie had told me to keep going, no matter what. Unfortunately, I had to go right where those things were dropping from the clouds. Maybe if I stayed quiet enough they wouldn't be able to find me. That always worked when we played hide-and-seek. I won a lot.

But then the closer I got the louder everything was. It was hard to be quiet and I couldn't make the tears stay in my eyes anymore.

I just wanted Amelie to come back.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

All of the sounds wouldn't stop. I kept walking, but it only got louder. I knew I couldn't turn around because it was too late for that. I could guess that I was somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, even when Amelie told me to keep going. My feet were hurting more than ever, and I was about to fall asleep standing up. Was it possible to do that? I think it was, but I had never seen anyone do it. It wasn't comfortable probably.

When I got more close to the lightning, I finally got to figure out what those ants with mushroom-umbrellas were. They were people! They looked ant sized before, but now I could see them perfectly. I don't know what their mushroom-umbrellas were called, but they made them fall from the sky and fly to the ground like birds. They were landing everywhere. I could sort of see the planes zooming by through the clouds, which I think were more from the explosions than anything. I picked up the pace of my walking, staring up at the sky as all of the people started to land in the distance. I was so amazed by it that I soon forgot about walking and stopped to watch them. I wanted to know how they did that…I had never seen anything like it ever. It looked hard but they seemed to know exactly what to do.

I wasn't sure who the people were connected to them, though. Were they the same people in the planes who took away Julien's house and Amelie's little garden? I hoped they weren't.

I decided to wait 'til I knew for sure. Maybe I could play hide-and-seek, since I was great at it. If I hid I could at least try to figure out who they were, and maybe wait 'til they left. Then I would be safe. I quit walking for a moment and searched for a hiding place. Trees were never any good, but I found a bunch of bushes that were full of leaves, so I ran and crouched down behind them. I was still afraid of the loud noises and the lightning which I was sure now wasn't lightning, actually. It was just more and more explosions… I laid down on the grass instead and covered my ears to try to block out all of the loud things around me. I found out that the grass was all wet and muddy, with annoying little bugs buzzing past my ears. The mud was going to ruin my nightgown and coat, which were already kind of dirty from falling before. I hoped Amelie wouldn't be mad that I got my new coat full of mud and grass stains because she had bought it especially for me and it was a lot of money.

I pulled my hands off my ears because it wasn't working anyway. Nothing I could do would ever get rid of that terrible noise that surrounded me.

Then, I heard footsteps and voices. They were whispering so I couldn't tell what they were talking about. Peeking through the leaves, I saw two of them walking together. I pushed some more of the leaves out of the way to see what they were doing, kneeling in the grass which was all squishy and disgusting. Kneeling made the brush-burns on them hurt, but there wasn't any other way I could get a good look.

It took me a minute, but I recognized them from all the posters and signs and films back in Chicago. They had the same helmets and uniforms in the same kind of color. It was a weird color, like halfway between green and brown. It had to be them, though—the soldiers! They were from America, like me.

I guess I made more noise than I thought when I was trying to see better, because one of them whispered, "Did you hear that?"

I didn't think I had made a lot of noise. Boy, did these soldiers have good hearing.

"Hear what?" another voice asked back.

Their voices were low, and when I listened real close, they sounded like mine. They were American, I was definitely sure of it. This made some of the queasy feeling in my stomach go away a little. Since being with Amelie, I hadn't seen anyone from my country for awhile. It felt nice, but I wasn't positive what to do. They seemed like they were in the middle of something very important; a secret mission, probably, like most soldiers did. I didn't know much about soldiers, but the boys used to talk about them all the time, and so did the Sisters. The Sisters didn't tell us much about everything that was going on, but sometimes we prayed for the soldiers at bedtime.

"Flash!" I heard one of them say.

I had no idea what that meant, or who this man was talking to. If he was trying to talk to me—if he'd seen me—what was I supposed to say back? It seemed like a strange word to just whisper out loud. Was he saying it to his friend or to me? I couldn't answer him because it would give me away. But then I heard this funny clicking sound. I don't know what it was, either. These soldiers were odd. I had never seen anything like them; they'd never showed anything like what they were doing now back home. What were they doing?

There was more gunfire in the background, which made my tears come back. It also made me jump. I accidently moved and hit my knee on a branch in the bush, which hurt the scrapes on my skin. I cried out and rustled the leaves when I moved back, and that made the footsteps come closer.

"Flash?" one of the voices asked. I knew it was more of a question this time because his voice was higher when he said it, like he wasn't sure if he should.

Then the footsteps came closer, so I shut my eyes and listened to them. I could hear their feet on the ground, very close. I got angry at myself for letting them find me. I thought I was good at hide and seek! Everyone always said so at the orphanage. They always told me I was hard to find because I was small. But these soldiers were so much better.

I felt someone standing next to me. He must have moved because it felt like he was hovering.

"Sir?" one of them asked.

"Stay there," the one nearest to me said to his friend. His voice sounded nice; very comforting, I thought. I kind of understood what those French people in Amelie's town were talking about now, with the difference in accents, since I'd been away from America for some time. "We don't want to scare her."

"Her?" His friend sounded really surprised. I bet he hadn't expected to find me here. I was starting to really believe I had wandered off where I shouldn't have. But maybe running into some soldiers was a good thing?

The first man didn't answer. Curious, I opened my eyes and looked up. The man who had told his friend to stay put was crouched near me. I stared at him and he gave me a small smile. I was still kind of afraid, especially since his face was covered in what looked like dirt, and his eyes were looking at my forehead. His smile went away all of a sudden. I didn't know what he was looking at. Reaching up my hand, I felt something wet and sticky down the side of my face. When I looked at my hand, the stuff on my fingers was dark. I was bleeding! I don't know how I couldn't have noticed it before. I guess I had hurt myself when I fell but with all the running and watching the soldiers, I hadn't quite noticed.

"Is she okay, sir?" the man's friend wanted to know. It was sure nice of him to ask about me. I kept staring at the man with the nice smile and saw a patch on his shoulder with an eagle. It made a lot of sense to me, since they'd arrived here like birds did.

"She's hurt, but not too bad, not that I can see," the man answered. He searched me over with his eyes, which I think were a really nice blue color. Not as dark blue as mine, though. He smiled again.

"Hey," he said to me. He put his hand on my shoulder, but I moved away, unsure still, which made him pull his hand away. Amelie had never said anything about what to do if I ran into soldiers. I didn't even know there were American soldiers here in France.

He nodded. "Hey," he said again, "I'm not here to harm you." He paused for a second. "Can you understand English?"

I nodded like he had. The Sisters at the orphanage had always said not to talk to strangers, so I didn't want to say anything.

"My name is Lieutenant Winters and I'm with the American army," he explained. I don't know what a lieutenant was, but it sounded mighty important. "What's your name?"

The Sisters always said not to give out that kind of information to strangers. I shook my head 'no,' and his smile went away again. He was disappointed.

"I can get you help," he said to me, pointing to my head. I knew it would be good to get some bandages. Maybe for my knees, too. But I still needed Amelie to kiss it to make it better. I couldn't go with him because Amelie had never said to. I had to wait here just in case I missed her and she hadn't disappeared and she was looking for me. If I went with the soldiers, she would never be able to find me again.

I shook my head.

"You can't stay here, sweetheart," he said. "I know you're scared, but if you come with me, I can get you somewhere safe."

I shook my head again and then felt bad because the soldier looked down, disappointed once more.

When he looked back up, he said, "I need you to trust me. I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you."

He reached out his hand for me to take. I looked at him, and the patch on his shoulder. He was a good guy, so he had to be telling the truth even though he was a stranger. But maybe he wasn't really a stranger now that he told me his name. I decided to take his hand and I hoped the Sisters and Amelie wouldn't be mad at me for it. It had to be okay if he was in the American army.

"There you go," Lieutenant said, helping me up from the muddy grass. "Can you walk?"

I gave him another nod. He kept my hand in his and led me forward out of the bush. I noticed his friend standing there. When he turned around he had this funny look on his face; his mouth was hanging open, kinda like a goldfish or something.

"This is my buddy, he's with the American army, too," Lieutenant explained, looking down at me. "His name is Private Hall, but you can call him John if you'd like." I nodded again because I didn't know what else to do.

"Did you get her name, sir? Or how she got here?" John asked him.

Lieutenant shook his head. "She won't talk."

I felt kind of bad, because he seemed nice enough but I just really didn't feel like talking. I don't know why. I was still nervous being around these soldiers, since they were not really like the ones I'd seen on the posters now that I thought real hard. I know they had the flag patches but I don't ever remember seeing any of the soldiers flying down like birds with mushroom-umbrellas in those posters. What kind of soldiers were they? Their jobs were real interesting. If I wasn't so shy, I would've asked them. Maybe later…

And, I was in a strange mood. I'd never been in this kind of mood before so I didn't know what was wrong with me.

Lieutenant glanced around. "We have to keep moving, get to the assembly area. Hopefully, we'll run into someone on the way," he said. Then he crouched down to my level. "I need you to stay in between us and be very quiet. Do you think you could do that for me?"

I nodded to let him know I understood.

"Good."

So, we started walking again. John stood in front of me and led the way through the grass that was beginning to get as tall as me. He had a gun. I'd never seen a gun up-close before so I couldn't stop staring at it. It looked sorta heavy, and I almost asked him about it, but then I remembered hearing the guns going off back when I left the house and suddenly I didn't want to ask anymore.

Before I knew what was going on (I was tired and stumbling all over the place) we were near a small river and Lieutenant Winters was tugging me behind him, by a tree. John stayed close to him, aiming his gun. I watched Lieutenant hold something metal in his hand, which he pressed with his thumb. Oh! It made that funny clicking noise that I'd heard earlier. Now I knew where it had come from. We waited for a minute, and then soldiers started coming out of the grass and bushes on the other side of the river. I was amazed by how well they could hide! A bunch of them crossed the river, splashing and kicking the water everywhere. It reminded me of how thirsty I was.

When the other soldiers reached us, they sure were happy to see Lieutenant Winters. I tried to catch their names but they kept talking to each other so fast, and their faces were covered in that dark paint so I couldn't figure out who was who.

I did see that two of them had different patches than Lieutenant. The one with the same patch smiled at me but didn't say anything. They all squatted down to the ground so I decided to do what they were doing. I had no idea what they were talking about though. Lieutenant looked like he had a map and I guessed they were trying to figure out where to go. Maybe they were just as lost as me.

But soon we were walking again. My feet hurt even more, and I was getting so, so sleepy. Lieutenant told me to keep walking and to stay in between his friend named John and his other friend, who he called Sergeant Lipton. I accidentally tripped into Sergeant a few times because I was so tired, but he didn't seem to get mad at me. He helped me up and we kept going.

After we walked for a bit, we found even more of Lieutenant's friends. They all had the same patch as him, and they used that funny clicking thing to find each other again. There were more soldiers with black paint on their faces and more names but I couldn't understand them all. Being so sleepy made my brain not work right. Like the other soldiers, they were very happy to see Lieutenant. Lieutenant must have been mighty popular because he had so many friends.

All of them kept looking at me though, which made me shy.

One of them finally went up to Lieutenant and asked, "Who's she?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Band of Brothers, and I mean no disrespect whatsoever with this work of fiction. I do, however, own Charlotte. **

**A/N: It has been terribly long since I've updated, I know. I'm sorry. College got in the way, and so did lack of inspiration, but I will try to get this story moving again! I hope you're all still willing to read? I have to admit I missed it. **

**Just a couple notes—I changed Charlotte's age, from 9 to 7. It might work better with her voice. And I made a few small editing changes to the previous chapters and changed the ending of the last one slightly (I just added more to it, so you're welcome to go back and read). It's a little short, but I'm hoping next chapter will be longer.**

**Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER THREE**

"_Who's she?"_

There was another man looking down at me. His face was covered in dirt like Lieutenant's. But he had a funny sounding voice. He kind of looked a little mean, so I made sure not to stare. Instead I hid behind Lieutenant.

"A civilian. She won't tell me what her name is, but I think she understands English. I found her hiding in the middle of the drop zone. Looks like she got hurt, so I figured I'd take her back to the assembly area and see if one of the medics can fix her up."

Did Lieutenant think I was French? I wanted to tell him I was American, but I was too shy to say anything.

The man with the funny voice didn't look too happy. "You think that's smart, sir? Dragging a little girl into combat with us?"

"I don't like it anymore than you do, Guarnere, but I couldn't leave her out there."

"Yeah? Why not? We don't have time for this bullshit. She could get killed, we could get killed…I don't think it's a good idea. …Sir."

I covered my ears because angry one with a funny accent said a bad word. We weren't supposed to say those words. I think he needed his Mom to wash his mouth out with soap, like the Sisters did when the older boys used them.

"On my orders, we will escort her to the assembly area, and then I'll see about her being returned to her family."

Maybe they could find out where Amelie went… I mean, Lieutenant found me and I'm the best hide-and-seeker out of all my friends!

The angry one stared at me again and then didn't say anything. I wanted to know why he was so angry. I didn't do anything!

Lieutenant said we had to walk again, to find more of his friends. I was tired of walking. If I fell down again I was sure that I was going to fall asleep right in the middle of the ground. My knees were still hurting because of the brush burns, too. I think Lieutenant noticed that I was so sleepy because he asked Sergeant Lipton if he could carry me while his other friends protected us with their scary-looking guns.

"Sure thing, sir," he said.

Sergeant seemed nice. He wasn't mean or scary so when he picked me up, I wasn't afraid. I was happy because it meant I didn't have to walk anymore. I held onto the front of Sergeant's jacket and put my chin on his shoulder while we walked. My eyes closed quickly. I felt safe. I didn't know what Daddy-hugs felt like, but this must have been like it. Maybe Sergeant knew because maybe he had kids… He seemed like a Daddy.

I wasn't asleep for very long. We heard strange sounding boots and horses nearby, and Sergeant accidentally woke me up since we had to hide again. This time we had to hide from the bad guys. I don't know, but this whole war was like a big game of hide-and-seek to me. Sergeant held onto me still and whispered for me to stay quiet no matter what. We were away from Lieutenant and I didn't know what was going on.

All of a sudden, the angry guy with the funny accent started shooting the bad guys with his gun. His gun was one of the meanest-sounding ones I had heard so far. And it sounded like it would never stop. I started shaking and Sergeant Lipton told me not to look. I covered my ears and buried my face in his shoulder until everything was quiet again.

Lieutenant didn't seem happy and he yelled at the guy who's name I think was Guarnere but for some reason his friends kept calling him Gon-or-rhe-a or something. I didn't know why. It sounded like a funnier name than his real one. When the coast was clear, we started walking. I didn't know how these soldiers could do all of this walking and not be tired. Maybe they were tired but not as tired as me. I fell asleep again in a few minutes but I had horrible dreams about Amelie and our little garden going away.

* * *

"Ah, you're awake," Sergeant smiled at me. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times. It was now light outside and I could see a small town almost like the one where Amelie lived up ahead.

"You must have been really tired," Sergeant said. "Some planes flew over awhile ago and you were still out like a light. Feel a little better?" I nodded. "Good. We're almost there. I'll have to carry you, though. The ground's all muddy and we can't have you getting lost."

He was right. The town was covered with soldiers. I wondered if Lieutenant, Sergeant, and the rest of these soldiers were friends with all of those guys, too. They sure had a lot of friends. The streets of the town weren't like the ones in Chicago. They were muddy like Sergeant said, and the mud was mixed with red stuff, which I think was blood. Seeing it made my stomach hurt so I tried not to pay attention to it too much.

Sergeant found Lieutenant again and he was talking to a guy with blonde hair. He seemed like a good guy, too, even though he was surprised when he saw me.

"Who's your friend?" he asked with a grin. He had really nice blue eyes.

"Lieutenant Winters picked her up along the way."

"Is that right?" He looked over at Lieutenant.

Lieutenant shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to make sure she was safe. Lipton, why don't you go find Doc Roe and make sure she's checked out?"

I was sad to leave Lieutenant but I knew Sergeant Lipton was going to take care of me. I sure hoped we would see him again. For now he looked really busy. Lipton carried me into the small town, his boots squishing in the mud. The other soldiers wouldn't stop staring at me. I knew they were probably surprised to see me here because I wasn't a soldier. I was happy to be with other Americans; I was lucky none of the bad guys found me instead.

We finally found Doc Roe in a barn taking care of other soldiers who were hurt more than I was. I was sad for them. I hoped they were going to be okay, because some of them looked pretty bad. I think they needed their Moms to hold their hands. But from what I could see, this Doc Roe guy was almost like a Mom and a doctor all in one. He made his friends feel better and made sure to tell them everything was going to be all right. Sergeant waited until he was done taking care of that soldier to tell him about me.

"Hey, Doc," Sergeant called.

"Good to see you, Carwood," Doc said.

I was confused at his strange name. Was it a nickname? I thought everyone was calling him Sergeant…

"You, too," Sergeant answered. "Think you can take a look at her real quick? I know you're busy and all—"

"'Course. Here, ah…over here, she can take a seat." He pointed to a giant pile of hay in the corner of the barn. Sergeant set me down; the hay was itchy against my skin but soft to sit on. I could've probably fallen asleep again, but there was so much going on around me that I didn't want to miss anything. Sergeant crouched down to my size.

"I'm going back to see if Lieutenant Winters needs my help. You can stay with Doc for a bit, all right?"

I nodded even though I didn't want Sergeant to leave me, too. At least Doc was going to make my scraped knees better. He stood up again and started to leave.

"You get her name, Sergeant?" Doc asked.

"She hasn't said anything. Maybe she'll talk to you."

Doc turned back to me while Sergeant left. "My name's Gene but everyone around here calls me Doc, so, uh, you can call me that if you'd like."

He had an even funnier voice than the angry guy from before! I never heard an accent like his ever. It was strange, but nice to listen to. I don't think he had much of an idea how to deal with kids like me like Sergeant did, but he was doing a good enough job. And I could tell that he was as quiet as me. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to talk to him. I couldn't anot talk forever—that would be pretty hard.

Doc pulled out a bandage. "That's a nasty cut you got there," he said. He wrapped the bandage around my head carefully. "Lucky though. Not deep enough for stitches. Let's take a look at your knees…" He made a face at the scrapes. They stung bad and they were dirty.

"I'm gonna have to clean them up so you don't get an infection, okay?"

Doc went away for a minute and came back with a metal bowl of soapy water and a cloth that sort of looked like it had been ripped off a blanket. He dunked the cloth into the bubbly water and wrung it out. I was waiting for him to put it on my knees; I knew it was going to hurt a lot, so I had my eyes squeezed shut.

Doc laughed softly. "You know what'll help? If you don't think about it. If we talk, you won't feel nothing."

I decided to speak. Being quiet the whole time with so many questions was too much work!

"Promise?" I asked.

Doc was surprised. Really surprised. "I promise."

"All right."

"Good…good," Doc smiled a little. "Ready to tell me your name?"

"It's Charlotte. But my friends call me Charlie," I told him. "You can call me Charlie if you want."

He nodded. "Where are you from, Charlie?"

"Chicago."

"How'd you get so far away from home?" he asked.

I didn't want to say, and he must have known that because he didn't ask me again. Instead, I decided to ask him a question.

"Why do you have a funny accent?"

He laughed. "I'm from Louisiana. We talk different than people in Chicago."

"I've never met someone from Louisiana," I told him. I've never been there, either. It sounded like it was a nice place. I bet he missed it. "Have you ever met someone from Chicago?"

"…Yeah." He didn't sound happy about it though. I wondered why. "Well, you're all cleaned up. I'm afraid I don't have any bandages for them, but they'll heal in no time."

Now I was surprised! I didn't know he was even cleaning up my scrapes.

"It worked!"

"Told you so."

"How are we doing here?" Lieutenant suddenly asked out of nowhere. He walked up to us, carrying a gun.

"Got 'er patched up, sir. Her name's Charlotte, but she likes to be called Charlie."

Lieutenant stuck out his hand. I shook it. "Good to meet you, Charlie. Nice work, Doc, I gotta hand it to you. We spent hours with her and she never said a word. Five minutes with you and she speaks." He shook his head, trying not to grin.

Doc got to his feet so that he could talk to him. "Sir, she's American. From Chicago."

"What?" Lieutenant was more shocked than Doc Roe was.

"I don't know how she got here. She wouldn't say."

"Well, this certainly changes things."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Band of Brothers or any of the Easy Company men. I don't mean any disrespect. I do own Charlie, though!**

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed and proved to me that people are still willing to read this story! Enjoy this extra-long chapter :) This is my favorite one so far.**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Charlie," Lieutenant said to me with that nice smile. Like the one he showed me before when he found me hiding. "You think you can stay here with Doc Roe until I get back?"

He had a gun in his hands so I figured he had to do something real important. But the guns are also scary—especially the big ones that made those loud booms earlier. What if Lieutenant got hurt? I would be sad if something bad happened to him since he was the one who saved me.

"Do you have to go?" I asked.

It was the first time Lieutenant heard me say anything; his smile got wide for a minute.

"My men need me. We have to help some other soldiers…if we do our job right, it will save a lot of them. But I promise when it's all over I'll come right back and I'll help you find your family."

"All right."

Lieutenant walked out of the barn and I sat on the itchy hay watching Doc take care of his friends. He looked awfully tired and I think he needed a nap more than I did. But there was lots of work to do. It made my belly sick to know that there were so many hurt soldiers. I bet some of them were brothers or uncles or daddies, and their families missed them so much. I thought I heard a few of them calling for their Moms.

I got bored of sitting there so I decided to walk over to see if Doc needed help. He was putting a bandage around a soldier's arm and it looked like he was almost done.

"Can I do something?" I asked him quietly. He gave me that look. It was that kind of face grown-ups make when you're too little to do things. But he looked like he didn't want to say it.

"I got it," he said. "Thanks for the offer, though."

All of a sudden, two soldiers hurried into the barn carrying one of their friends. Their friend was howling out in pain and he was bleeding in lots of different places. Doc Roe and another doctor rushed over to fix him up right away, but the soldier wouldn't stop yelling. He needed someone to calm him down. I went over there slowly and made sure to stay out of the way. The soldier kept moving around on the cot, and it seemed like he was crying. I didn't blame him for crying because he was hurt very badly—and he was probably scared. I knew what I had to do.

My knees would sting again if I kneeled down, so instead I sat next to the cot of the crying soldier. Now I could see that he was very afraid, and I didn't want him to be scared anymore. Didn't he know that Doc was going to make him feel better?

I grabbed his hand and held onto it even though it was much bigger than mine. I think it helped because he turned his head to stare at me like he didn't expect me to be there. His face was covered in dirt just like all the rest of the soldiers, but I could tell that he had bright green eyes.

"It's all right," I told him. "They're gonna make you better. You don't have to be scared."

He kept his eyes on me; I don't think he wanted to look at the blood either. He squeezed my hand the tiniest bit.

"Thank you."

Then he scrunched up his face because the wounds still hurt. Doc Roe and his other doctor friend were busy pouring this powder stuff into the cuts and wrapping bandages on them. I was glad this soldier was going to be okay.

"You're very brave," I said.

He sort of smiled. "So are you."

* * *

After that nice soldier was fixed up, Doc Roe gave him something he called mawfeen and I guessed that made him feel extra better because he fell asleep pretty fast. Then Doc took a short break and sat on the pile of hay next to me. he took off his helmet and set it in his lap, which was when I noticed he had short black hair. He took a long drink from a canteen and passed it onto me. I took an even longer drink; I forgot how thirsty I was. I felt really bad for drinking the rest of Doc's water. He didn't seem to be mad, though. He laughed.

"D'you have family in France?" Doc asked after awhile.

"Kinda," I answered. I didn't really want to talk about it, but I thought Doc might need to know if he could help Amelie. "I lived with Amelie. She was supposed to be my new Mom."

He got quiet. "Where is she?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. She disappeared. She's hurt probably…I know you could help her. But her house disappeared, too."

Doc looked sad. "I'm sorry."

Somehow, I don't think Doc or Lieutenant or even Sergeant would be able to find Amelie and fix her no matter how hard they tried. Those mean bombs had taken away her house and the little garden we planted together. They'd taken Amelie away from me, too. It made me upset because she didn't even do anything wrong! So why did the bombs have to make Amelie disappear?

It seemed like I didn't have very good luck with having a Mommy around. Or a Daddy. I didn't remember ever having a Dad. And I didn't want to go back to Chicago. The Sisters were nice and they took care of me, but I wanted to real Mom and Dad for once.

"I think we oughta find you somethin' to eat," Doc said. He stood up, tucked his helmet under his arm, and helped me stand.

We walked out of the barn into the muddy streets. There were still soldiers everywhere—more than there were before. There were also some nice French people talking and giving the soldiers some of their food.

"Are you okay to walk in the mud or d'you want me to carry you?"

I felt bad making Doc carry me since he was so tired. I shook my head.

"I'm okay."

I stayed close to Doc again while we walked, and again, the soldiers everywhere were watching me. They were all curious. Some of them smiled at me. A few waved and I waved back shyly.

"Hey, Doc!" someone shouted.

We peeked over to see two of Doc's friends walking toward us. One of them had loaves of bread in his arms and the other was in the middle of eating one. They seemed like they could be brothers.

"'ey, Skip, Alex," Doc called. "Where'd you get all that? Commandeer a bakery or somethin'?"

"Close enough," the one who was eating—I think he was the one named Alex—said with a mouthful of food.

"Found one of the civilians giving away fresh-baked bread, so I took as many as I could carry," the other one, I guessed was Skip, said. He tossed a loaf of bread to Doc.

"Thanks," he told them. I was trying not to laugh at the one who was eating noisily and spilling crumbs everywhere. He probably hadn't eaten in a long time.

Skip crouched down to my height. "And who might this be?"

"Charlie."

"You hungry, Charlie?"

"Yes."

"Here, take this. We've got plenty." Skip handed me a loaf of bread and I took it. It smelled really good, and it was still a little warm. It made my stomach rumble.

"Thank you."

He grinned and stood back up, patting me on the top of the head.

"Where'd you find her, Doc?" Alex asked.

"Oh I didn't. Lieutenant Winters did."

"How long is she stickin' around?" Skip wanted to know.

Doc shrugged. "Til we can get 'er back to the States, I'd imagine. Probably not long."

I took a bite of the bread. It tasted so good 'specially since I hadn't eaten anything in awhile. I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing right away. Eating distracted me from what Doc and his friends were talking about. I didn't want to go back to Chicago. I didn't want to leave Lieutenant and Sergeant and Doc and all of these nice soldiers I was meeting now. I would be sad to say goodbye. They wouldn't send me back would they? I wanted to stay here.

"Gene!" Doc looked over and found his other doctor friend yelling for him. "I need your help in here."

"Ah…can you fellas look after Charlie while—"

"No problem," Alex said. "We got her."

Doc ran off and Alex took my hand and led me away between him and Skip, whose arms were still full of baked bread. Every once and awhile he'd throw one to one of his buddies and they would be so happy to have that bread. I was eating mine slowly because I wanted to save some of it. We finally stopped outside a building where two other friends of Skip and Alex were sitting on wooden boxes. One of them was much shorter than the other although both of them had dark hair. The taller one had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Skip tossed them some bread. It was all he had left. "I come bearing food that isn't stale or from a box for once."

"And a guest," the one with the cigarette said to him. "Who's your friend, Muck?"

"This is Charlie. She'll be staying with us for a bit. Try not to corrupt her too much, George."

"What'd ya talkin' about? Are you sayin' I'm a bad influence? Charlie, don't listen to him, okay? Fifteen minutes here and I'll be your favorite uncle."

"More like favorite _crazy_ uncle," the other soldier, the shorter one, said. "Nice to meet ya. I'm Frank."

I waved. So many names to remember! I don't know if I can remember them all…

"Have a seat," Alex said, patting a small box in between him and Skip. I sat down and finished my bread, only because I was really, really hungry. George and Frank ended up sharing theirs with Skip and Alex.

Skip pulled out a deck of cards. They were a little dirty and bent around the edges, but still good. He started shuffling them back and forth and doing all sorts of tricks without even looking!

"You ever played Black Jack?" he asked me.

"I don't know any card games."

"Poor kid," George said. "We're gonna have to change that."

"All right, we'll start with the basics, then," Skip said. He lined up a couple different cards in his hand and pointed to each one as he talked. "Ace, King, Queen, Jack. They're the face cards. Hearts. Clubs. Diamonds. And the best of the best—spades." He pointed to the card and then to his helmet, which had a spade painted on it in white! "They're called suits. The rest are all numbered cards from two to ten. I'm assuming you know how to count?"

"'Course I do!"

"Oh, I know. Smart little girl like you, what was I thinkin', huh?" he laughed. "All right. In Black Jack, you get two cards. With those two cards, you have to try to get to twenty-one to win. The closer you get to twenty-one with your cards, the better. If you don't have twenty-one right away, you can ask the person dealing the cards for another one to see if you get close. If you go over twenty-one, you lose. With me so far, kid?"

"Uh-huh," I said.

"Good. Now for the values. An ace can count as one or eleven. All the numbered cards are the same. The face cards, on the other hand, count as ten. I'll teach you how to bet and gamble when you're old enough," he smiled. "Think you're ready to play?"

"I don't know…"

"Here. Alex or Perco can deal and Charlie can play with me until she learns the ropes," George suggested.

"I'll deal," Alex said. He pulled another bigger box over and put it in the middle of all of us. George told me to sit with him so I ended up sitting on his lap because we were supposed to be a team. Alex shuffled the cards around again for good measure and then gave everyone two of them.

"Get ready to lose, boys," George told his friends.

"Talkin' trash already, Luz?" Frank asked.

"He's bluffing," Skip said.

"My bet is that Charlie will be kicking all of our asses by tonight," Alex laughed.

George instantly put his hands over my ears. "Penk, would you please? There's a child present, you know. Watch your goddamn mouth."

Skip slapped George on the back of the head. "_George_! You're one to talk."

"Can we get to the game already, fellas? I'm not gettin' any younger over here," Frank told them.

I couldn't stop giggling. These guys were funny! And they were like best friends. They were so nice to me!

There was no way I could leave now.

"Let's see what we got…count 'em up," George said. I looked at the cards. We had an ace and a five. I remembered what Skip said about aces and started counting on my fingers.

"Sixteen."

"Good hand, huh? And they thought I was bluffing. How many do we need for twenty-one?" he asked me.

I thought about it for a moment and counted on my fingers again. "Another five."

"Exactly it."

Alex went around to Skip and Frank to see if they wanted more cards. Skip went over twenty-one and lost, which he wasn't happy about because he wanted to beat George at the game. Frank had a six and an eight. After thinking some, he asked Alex for another card and ended up getting a Queen.

"_Bust_!" George shouted. "Charlie and I win!"

I played once more with George and we lost to Frank. Then, I decided I was all right enough to play on my own and Skip decided he wanted to deal because he was tired of losing, so I played against George, Alex, and Frank. We played forever. At least it felt like forever. It was so much fun. I even won a couple of times, and they let me deal out the cards for a few games.

We played until Lieutenant found me again. He was finally back from that important job he had to do. I hoped everything went well, although he seemed a little sadder than before. A few other friends followed him over to where we were playing cards. I didn't catch their names but boy, were Skip and everyone happy to see them!

"I need you to come with me," Lieutenant said.

"Aww, come on, Lieutenant, we were just about to teach her how to play poker," George said.

Lieutenant chuckled a little. "Say goodbye to your friends, Charlie."

"Goodbye?"

"Colonel Strayer has arranged for you to go to England, and from there, we'll make sure you go back to Chicago. I have some guys working to track down the orphanage. You'll be safe at home in no time."

I could feel stinging near my eyes again. I just got here and met all of these funny, nice soldiers. Now I had to leave? I didn't want to. I didn't want to go back. I would miss everyone too much already. Why was Lieutenant making me leave? Didn't he like me?

"So soon?" George asked. He sounded sad, too.

"We can't have her in the middle of a warzone," Lieutenant replied. "It's too dangerous."

"You sure we can't keep her, sir?" Skip wanted to know.

They didn't want me to go, either!

"Sorry, Muck. Colonel's orders. It's for her safety."

I tried my hardest not to cry. Slowly, I went around to Skip, George, Frank, and Alex and gave them each a tight hug. I would miss them a lot. They were good to me. I wouldn't ever forget them.

"Thanks for teaching me cards," I said before leaving with Lieutenant.

They shouted goodbye at me while I walked away. On the way to wherever Lieutenant was taking me, we ran into Sergeant and that blonde haired soldier from before so I was able to say goodbye to them, too. And to Doc Roe, who was standing outside the barn talking to his doctor friend and another soldier as we passed by. I would miss him a lot because he was the first person I talked to here and one of the nicest I ever met. I sure hoped he got back to Louisiana when this whole war was over.

We finally stopped where a truck was parked. Some soldiers were loading boxes onto it and others were standing around talking. I guessed this was where I was supposed to go next, on that truck. I saw a couple more climbing into the back of it as well. Lieutenant sighed and lead me over to the back of the truck, which was covered.

"It's been a pleasure to meet you, Charlotte," he said. "I hope we meet again someday when the war ends. Take care of yourself. You're a good kid."

I hugged Lieutenant Winters the longest. "Thank you for saving me."

I don't know what I would have done without him being so brave and rescuing me. I didn't want to say goodbye to him, either.

He picked me up and helped me onto the truck with one more wave to say goodbye. I climbed into the back and sat on top of one of the boxes across from one of the two soldiers that were also in the truck. I tucked my knees into my chest and wished the two of them would stop looking at me. I finally started to cry because I couldn't help it anymore. When I got back to Chicago, none of the other kids would probably believe me when I told them what happened. And it made me cry even worse once I thought about never seeing Lieutenant or Doc Roe or Sergeant or George or any of those guys ever again.

I heard someone outside call for Lieutenant and then I saw him walk away with one of his soldiers. Moments later I saw Frank and George and another friend (I didn't know his name) walk over to the truck. I didn't understand what they were doing out there, but it seemed like they were maybe doing something to the truck. I was confused, though. What were they doing? And then it sounded like the guys driving the truck got into the front of it so we could all leave. I heard the engine rumbling.

All of a sudden, George jumped into the back of the truck while Frank and their friend went running away. What was George doing here? He slid over and sat next to me. He had the biggest smile on his face I had ever seen. The other two soldiers were staring at him all funny, almost like they were angry. They knew he wasn't supposed to be here.

"Hey there, kiddo," George said. He laughed probably because my face was so confused. Maybe Frank was right—George _was_ crazy!

"What are you doing?" I giggled. The truck was moving now, and the guys driving it had no idea George was in the back.

"You're from Chicago?" he asked. I nodded and then looked at the two soldiers again. They were very grumpy. "I knew someone from Chicago. Not a very pleasant fella. I'd imagine Chicago is no fun at all for you. Am I right?"

"Yes!"

"And, that being true, you _definitely _wouldn't want to go back there."

I shook my head real fast.

"That's what I thought," George said.

I wondered what he was going to do…


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Band of Brothers. Only the boxset and the book. I mean no disrespect to the real veterans in this work of fiction. I do, however, own Charlie. **

**A/N: I can't thank you wonderful readers enough for reviewing! Your words always encourage me to update. Hopefully everyone is still willing to read! Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"Hey, pal, what're you lookin' at?" George asked one of the grumpy soldiers.

"Get lost, _pal_, or we'll—" The other angry soldier was interrupted by George.

"Or you'll what? Tell the driver on me? Oh, I'm shaking in my boots over here."

"Yeah, well—"

"Okay, tell ya what, I'll give you fifty bucks to shut your yap and let me take Charlie."

I suddenly noticed that the truck was making a lot of strange noises. It didn't sound real good. The grumpy soldiers looked at each other and now they were the ones who were confused.

"Fifty bucks?" one of them asked.

George smiled. "Each."

He pulled some money out of his pocket. I'd never seen so much money in my whole life! The grumpy soldiers kept looking back and forth at one another and all the money George had. They were thinking about it.

"Take the money and when the truck stops, you act like you didn't see a thing. You play stupid. I'm sure that won't be hard."

One soldier leaned over and grabbed the money from George. The other guy looked at him with a frown. He passed his friend some of the money. He sure was real happy to have that money.

"What do we care? Let 'em go."

The truck was starting to slow down a little.

"Okay, Charlie, we gotta scram," George said. "It's been a pleasure doin' business with you gentlemen."

George grabbed my hand we went to the back of the truck. it was strange to walk while it was still moving; I almost felt like I was going to fall but I didn't. George picked me up and stood at the very end of the truck. The road was going by under us and it made me dizzy.

"Hold on tight," he told me. "We're gonna jump for it. …One…two…"

I held on tight and squeezed my eyes shut. George didn't yell "three" but my belly got all funny when he finally jumped off the truck. We landed on the ground but it didn't hurt because George seemed to know exactly what to do. He landed on his butt with me still hanging on so I wouldn't get hurt. He took a deep breath and then started laughing. I opened my eyes and saw that the truck was slowly going away. But I knew it would stop soon because I think George and his friends broke it.

"Currahee!" he yelled. I didn't know what that meant. But it sounded like a good word.

"Currahee!" I shouted, too. George smiled.

"Congratulations, kiddo. You made your first jump."

"What do you mean?"

George looked ahead at the truck. It was finally stopping.

"Hold on, we gotta move before they see us." We got off the road and went into the forest to start walking back to that little town with all the soldiers. The sky was getting dark so I stayed close and held onto George's hand.

"Me and my friends," he said while we walked, "We jump out of airplanes to get the Germans. We use parachutes—it's how we got to France."

Oh! Now some things made a lot of sense.

"I saw you!" I said. "I saw you falling out of the sky! Like birds."

"Exactly like birds. The Screamin' Eagles."

"Is it scary?"

He didn't say anything right away. He almost looked sad. "Nah."

We kept walking and didn't talk for a few minutes. It was getting darker and darker. I could hear crickets in the grass. I looked up at George and then hugged him because I was so happy not be on that truck anymore. He was going to take me back and I was going to stay with everybody!

"Thank you," I told him. But then I realized something real fast. Would Lieutenant be mad that George broke the rules?

"It's no problem at all."

"Won't you get into trouble?"

He shrugged his shoulders and scrunched up his face. "Maybe," George said. "But…I ain't the only one who busted you out."

"What if they take me back?"

"They're not gonna."

"But—"

"They're not gonna take you back, Charlie, because we're not gonna let them. All right? Don't worry."

I nodded. "Okay."

"You're a part of Easy Company now," he grinned.

"Easy Company?"

"Me and my buddies. We're in this whole group and the Airborne gave us this name, you know, to identify us."

It made me feel important, then. "Will you teach me how to jump out of airplanes, too?"

"Maybe someday when you're older."

* * *

George had to sneak me into the town without anyone important seeing. It was dark, but there were still soldiers walking around everywhere so we had to be on the lookout for most of the officers. George said the officers were like the grown-ups around here and if we got caught we would get into trouble because they thought I was on the truck going home.

We heard laughing coming from a different covered truck and George told me to wait while he poked his head inside. I could see a little bit of light trying to peek out from the doorway.

"So, was the mission successful?" someone asked.

"Yeah, I got her right here."

"Better bring her in before Lieutenant Winters sees," someone else said. I think I recognized that voice. I think it was Sergeant Lipton!

George lifted me into the truck. I found out the light was from a small fire where they were trying to cook something. I noticed Sergeant Lipton, that blonde guy Lieutenant Winters was talking to earlier, that angry guy who still kind of scared me, and three soldiers I didn't know. George climbed in after me and pulled a blanket-looking cover back over. I sat in between Sergeant and George.

"It better have been successful," the soldier I didn't know said. "I chipped in half my jump pay."

"So did Frank and Skip," George said. "They took it, the bastards." He stopped for a second. "Where are my manners…Charlie, this is Don Malarkey." He pointed to the guy I didn't know who was cooking something.

"And Joe Toye," George pointed to another guy with dark hair who was holding a bottle. Then he pointed out another guy in the back. "Cleveland Petty."

I waved. "Hi."

George pointed to Lieutenant Winters' friend. "…And this is Buck Compton. He's an officer but I'm sure these guys have suckered him into the whole scheme."

"I don't know how long it'll last, but you're secret's safe with me," Buck answered.

"I don't like it," the mean guy, Gonorrhea, said. "Safest place for her to be is stateside. She was better off on that truck."

"Maybe, maybe not," Joe said. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He was lighting it up. "Charlie could be a bit of a morale booster for the fellas."

"Remind us what we're fighting for," Don agreed.

"We can't drag her onto the battlefields with us, boys. She'll be sent home eventually. I'd hate for a doll like her to get killed on our watch."

I think Sergeant saw the look on face because he said, "She _won't_. We'll look out for her, just like we'd do for anyone else in this company."

"She ain't a soldier. She's a civilian—a _little girl_. She don't belong in the middle of a war."

I was afraid but I had to say something, or he would send me back for sure.

"Please, Mr. Gonorrhea, don't send me back! I promise I'll be good. I'll be a great soldier like all you guys. You can teach me! I won't get into trouble, honest!"

Everybody was quiet for a minute, and then they started laughing. I was confused. What did I say that was so funny? Even the mean guy was laughing!

"Call me Bill, sweetheart," he said, chuckling. "It ain't right for a little one to be usin' that kind of language."

Maybe he wasn't so mean after all…

"At least until you're older," Don said.

"Why?" I was very, _very_ confused. Wasn't it just a name? Why was it so bad to say? "What's it mean?"

"We'll tell ya when you're sixteen," George said. That seemed like a very long time away.

"Sixteen still seems a little young," Buck joked. "How about eighteen?"

The guys laughed again. I still didn't get why they weren't going to tell me what Bill's nickname was supposed to mean…I guessed it was just a grown-up joke or something.

"So…got any bright ideas on how you're going to smuggle her past Winters, Welsh…even Colonel Sink?" Petty wanted to know.

"Yeah, sure," Don said. "I'll just open up my musette bag and pack her in."

George was getting up. "I'm gonna scrounge up some extra gear. If she dresses like one of us, we can make her blend in."

"That's your solution, Luz? Make her dress up like a paratrooper and hope no one notices?" Buck asked, shaking his head.

"I don't see any of you coming up with somethin' better," George said. He disappeared out of the truck.

"Want something to eat, Charlie?" Don asked. He was scooping up some stuff into bowls.

"You don't want that," Bill said. He started digging around his pockets. Don didn't look too happy. "Here, take this." Bill leaned over and handed me something wrapped in shiny foil. I opened it up and saw that it was a chocolate bar.

I smiled. "Thanks!"

"Chocolate isn't dinner," Don told Bill.

"So what? It ain't exactly dinner time. Let her have it."

"She'll never go to sleep with all that sugar," Buck said.

Sergeant was laughing and shaking his head at his friends. I sat there and started eating the chocolate bar. I hadn't had chocolate in awhile. It tasted really good, even though I felt a little bad for not eating what Don cooked.

Suddenly, George poked his head into the truck. "Heads up, guys. Lieutenant Winters is heading this way."

"Shit," Don said. Then he immediately looked at me. "…Sorry."

"Hey, watch the language, there's a lady in the room, Malark," Joe said.

"_I said I was sorry_!"

"Toss me that blanket," Sergeant said to Petty. "Charlie, keep quiet, okay?"

Sergeant told me to lie down on the seat behind him so he could cover me with the blanket and hide me from Lieutenant. I laid there with the chocolate bar still in my hand. It was dark and everyone's voices were a bit softer from under the blanket. I was pretty sure the chocolate bar was going to melt…

Soon I heard Lieutenant's voice but I wasn't paying any attention to what he was saying. I was trying to stay quiet but at the same time finish eating the chocolate so it wouldn't melt everywhere. I really hoped Lieutenant didn't notice me, though. I mean, I liked him a lot since he was the one who saved me, but I knew he wanted to send me back to Chicago. So I had to hide from him until maybe it was too late to send me back. I was a great hide-and-seeker, but I didn't know how good I could hide while I was in the middle of a big group of soldiers. It was going to be pretty difficult. What if Bill was right? What if they did send me back sometime? George said they wouldn't let me go anywhere, but what if he was wrong?

"Oh and Sergeant? I'm not a Quaker," I heard Lieutenant say.

What's a Quaker? These guys sure had funny nicknames for everything and everybody…

"Coast is clear," George said after a few more minutes. I pushed the blanket off me right away and saw him coming back to sit down. He had a bunch of stuff in his hands. I took a deep breath and tried to fix my hair because it was messed up now. "Aww, Jeez. I leave you alone with these guys for ten minutes and you've got chocolate all over your face."

"I'll fix that," Sergeant said. He grabbed the end of the blanket and began wiping the chocolate off my face and hands. Then he took the foil and crumpled it up.

"I got her a helmet, jacket, belt, and some boots," George said.

"Boots won't fit," Joe said.

"Nothing's gonna fit," Buck said with a laugh.

"We'll _make_ it fit," Don told them. "Stand up for a minute, Charlie."

I got to my feet in the middle of the truck. George still had the helmet but it looked like Don had the jacket I was supposed to wear, Buck had the belt, and Bill was holding onto the boots.

"Allow me to take your coat, little lady," Don said to me.

"Amelie bought this for me," I said.

"We'll keep it packed away for ya," George promised.

"Okay." I took off my nice coat that had a little bit of mud on it from walking around all day.

George held onto it and my knapsack and Don helped me into a jacket that looked exactly like the ones they were wearing—with the eagle patch on it and everything! It was so big that the sleeves went way past my hands and it almost seemed like a dress because it went down past my knees. He rolled up the sleeves so they wouldn't fall down past my hands and then Buck told me to turn around so he could put on the belt. He buckled it as far as it would go to make sure it wouldn't slip off. After that, Sergeant told me to sit down so they could put on the boots. I took off my shoes first and Sergeant pulled me into his lap. I swung my legs over so my feet were in front of Bill. He pushed the boots onto my feet but they were too big!

"Told ya they wouldn't fit," Joe said.

"I'll tie 'em tight as they'll go and maybe they'll stay on."

Bill tied up the boots real tight. My toes had lots and lots of wiggle room but they weren't falling off. When I stood back up again it was kind of hard to walk because they were big on me and very heavy. But I felt like a real part of Easy Company now! George put the helmet on my head. It fell forward and covered my eyes and I couldn't see. I had to push it back a little. It was heavier than the boots on my feet. I wondered how they could walk around every day with all this stuff on them. It sure was tough work being a paratrooper.

"Well…she's the shortest paratrooper I've seen," Petty said.

"It'll have to work for now," Sergeant replied.

"I don't know, fellas. It's a bit of a stretch." Buck was shaking his head.

"She can do it. Right, Charlie?" George asked.

"Yes!"

The guys taught me how to march and salute and a bunch of other things I hoped I could remember how to do. There was so much to learn! We practiced and practiced and practiced some more until I started to get sleepy. I don't remember when I fell asleep but I kept dreaming that Lieutenant spotted me right away and sent me back to Chicago and I never saw Easy Company again…

I just hope I could pretend to be a good enough soldier.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except Charlie and anyone else you don't recognize. No disrespect whatsoever is meant toward the soldiers of Easy Company, this is a work of fiction. **

**A/N: GUYS. I know it's been AGES. I apologize, I really do. And I thank you for your wonderful reviews! I'm sidetracked with school, original writing, and other fics. I'll try and start updating this one again (and maybe the others, too…). I hope you're still interested! Special thanks to my friend Emilie for her help. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!**

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**CHAPTER SIX **

Lieutenant was angry. I was sitting in between George and Don in the middle of a town with the whole group of Easy Company. It didn't take Lieutenant very long to find me, and when he did, he looked at me in the same way the Sisters at the orphanage used to whenever I did something bad. And then he kind of looked like he wanted to smile but couldn't, too. There was another man standing next to him. He was shorter. His voice had a much different sound to it than Lieutenant's, like he was grumpy and he liked to talk fast all the time. I took the helmet off my head because it was making my hair all sweaty and it was too heavy. Lieutenant didn't say anything for awhile and neither did Don or George. I don't know why. I don't think they knew what to say.

"Ain't she the one you requested the transport for?" the short man asked.

"Yeah, that would be her," Lieutenant said. He looked at Don and George who were busy looking someplace else. "Malarkey, would you happen to know how she got off the truck?"

"No, sir, I don't."

Lieutenant was trying not to smile again. I could tell. Maybe he wasn't too angry. "Luz? You wouldn't have anything to do with this, would you?"

George looked at me real quick. He couldn't find his words. Or maybe he couldn't find the words he wanted to say.

"No, sir," he lied. He was smiling real wide. I had a feeling George was a good liar. "I think maybe she missed us. Must've hopped off the truck and followed."

"Dressed in…full gear?" the short man asked. "Nice try, fellas."

"I don't know how long you were planning to wait until someone noticed," Lieutenant told them, "but it's _completely_ irresponsible. You could have put her in danger, letting her follow the company. If she got in the line of fire…" He stopped talking.

"We'd never let anything happen to her, sir," Don said.

Lieutenant was angry, but his voice didn't shout. Not like the Sisters when we got into trouble. He was quiet. I liked him.

"I know you wouldn't. But you have to realize—all of you—that we're in the middle of a war and it's not a place for a child. Her safest bet was on that truck, back to England. Everything out here is a game of chance, and we can't afford to be keeping an eye on her in the middle of combat. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Don and George said together.

"What're you gonna do with her, then?" the short man said to Lieutenant. "We're moving out soon. She can't stay."

My lip shook and I felt like I was going to cry. I didn't want to leave Easy Company. Not ever. And now they were making me leave again.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant," I said in a whisper.

Lieutenant got down to my level. He had his helmet underneath his arm. His face wasn't as angry as before. He looked a little sad.

"It's okay, Charlie," he said to me. "We're going to get you somewhere safe."

"_Somewhere safe_ in the middle of a warzone is like a…what'd ya call it, an oxymoron?" the short man laughed. "Got any bright ideas?"

"Yeah, one," he said. "There's an aid station set up not too far from here. I'll have a few of the men escort her and explain the situation. Once Easy comes off the line, I'll arrange for her transport to Aldbourne."

"Easy could be on the line for weeks," the short man answered. "And Aldbourne? What happened to the States?"

Lieutenant smiled, but didn't say anything. I wonder what he was thinking. I was very confused and couldn't follow their words. But I guess it had to be all right. I could tell Lieutenant was a good guy; he wasn't going to let any bad things happen to me. Maybe I'd get to stay with Easy Company after all.

"Tell Roe," he said slowly, like he was thinking, "Talbert, and Grant I need them up front, now."

They were making me leaving again. Lieutenant said it was to make sure I was all right while Easy Company did their fighting. He said I wasn't supposed to be pretending to be a soldier, so I had to give all my things back, even though I liked dressing up like a paratrooper. But I was also happy because that stuff was heavy. I got my knapsack back and I put on my coat that Amelie gave me. I was really sad to be going away from Easy Company, but Lieutenant promised they would come back once their battles were done. I didn't know how long that was gonna take but it seemed like it might be forever because this war was so long. I had to say goodbye to my friends. I was really, _really_ sad that they were going and I was scared. I told them to be extra careful. They gave me some of their chocolate before I left which was nice of them.

Doc Roe was with me again. I liked him a lot. He was a good guy and his accent was fun to listen to. There were also two other men I didn't meet yet. Their names were Talbert and Grant, or at least that's what I think Lieutenant said. Talbert said I could call him Tab. I thought that was a funny nickname. He had an accent, too, kinda like Doc Roe's but not exactly the same.

"So, they call you Charlie, huh?" the man named Grant asked. He looked like he would be a Daddy, like Lieutenant. I wondered if he had any kids. I nodded.

"You can call me Chuck," he said. "My Ma used to call me Charlie when I was about your age."

"I don't like Charlotte," I told him. "It's a grown-up sounding name."

He laughed. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? Well, there ain't no harm in nicknames. We all have 'em, especially around here."

I walked in between Chuck and Doc Roe with Tab following behind. I was a little curious now. I looked behind me and Tab was looking all around, everywhere. When I asked about it earlier, Chuck said it was to make sure nothing bad happened. He was on the lookout for people with guns who might try to hurt us. He said Tab was a really good soldier and would protect us.

"Tab?" I asked. I was getting used to talking to everyone. I liked them a whole lot. They were a nice group of soldiers.

He smiled. "Yeah, Charlie?"

"What's your real name?"

"Parents named me Floyd," Tab said. It was a name I don't think I'd heard much before. "Doesn't roll off the tongue easily. I like my nickname, too."

I don't remember who called me Charlie first. That was a long, long time ago, I think.

We walked some more. It seemed like all I'd been doing for days was walking. I still didn't have any shoes, but before we left, Doc tied some bits of cloth and blankets around my feet so they didn't get dirty and cut up again. My feet still hurt, though. Chuck stopped me from walking and crouched down real low.

"Hop on my back," he said. "Give your feet a little rest."

I climbed on Chuck's back and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on real tight. Tab moved closer to us and kept on the lookout.

"How much further, Doc?" Tab asked.

"We're lookin' for _Chateau Colombieres_," Doc Roe said. "Shouldn't be too long now."

Doc Roe was right. We walked for a little bit more and then all of a sudden there was this very big place that looked like a castle. It was tall and it reminded me of a castle that a princess would live in. If this was where I was going to be until Easy Company finished their battles, I guess it wouldn't be so bad. There were lots of people around; they were soldiers, too. And, I saw there were tents with red crosses on them like Doc Roe's arm. A lot of the soldiers had red crosses on their helmets. Doc Roe said this was the place where they took care of the soldiers from the Screaming Eagles when they got hurt. Chuck kept me on his back while we walked through the mud and went up to the building that reminded me of a castle. I wasn't paying much attention to what Chuck and Tab and Doc Roe were looking for because the building was so beautiful.

We went up to a guy who seemed like he was in charge, kind of like Lieutenant. He had a kind of angry face and his hands were on his hips while he was talking to another soldier with a red cross on his helmet. Then, he talked to Doc Roe, but he didn't seem too happy about it. I guess maybe he was upset that all these Screaming Eagle soldiers were so hurt. It made me sad, too.

"Sir, this is 326th Airborne Medical, right?" Doc Roe asked. He had to make sure we were at the right place.

"Yeah," the angry-faced man said. "What can I do for you?"

"Eugene Roe, medic with the 506th, Easy Company," Doc Roe told him. "We have a young girl with us, she's, uh…she's an American citizen. Easy's on the line and our commanding officer, Lieutenant Winters, requested she stay here with your company until we're pulled out of combat."

"How'd she get here?"

I don't know if I liked this man very much. He didn't seem to like me.

"Long story, sir. There was some trouble when we tried to get her off to England. Lieutenant Winters—"

"And you expect us to play babysitter?" he asked. "I don't know if you've noticed, but this place ain't exactly kid-friendly."

"We realize that, sir, with all respect," Chuck said. "But hell, this kid means a lot to the company and we just want her safe."

The angry-faced man sighed real loud. He looked at me. Then he looked at Doc Roe and Tab and Chuck.

"You're coming back for her?"

"'Course we are, sir," Tab said. "Once Easy's headed back to England she'll be comin' with us."

"All right. I'll find someone to look after her, only because it's clear she doesn't have anyplace else to go." He seemed a bit sad for a moment. "I got two kids at home myself."

Then the angry man, who didn't look too angry anymore, turned to talk to another soldier. Chuck crouched down so I could climb off his back, and suddenly I didn't know what to do. There were lots of strange people around here that I didn't know and I had to stay here with them. I was scared. I held onto Doc Roe's sleeve and watched the man talking to the soldiers. Another soldier ran up to him; he was real bouncy on his feet, and when he talked, he was all out of breaths. His face was covered in dirt. He took off his helmet and he had blonde hair that was sweaty and pushed down funny from the helmet. He looked like he would be a nice man.

"Quinn," the other man said, the one who was angry but not-so-angry anymore, "I have a…special assignment for you."

"Yes, sir," he said. He smiled at me and he had little crinkles in the side of his cheeks. "What is it?"

"This girl is a long way from home and according to these fellas here, she's important to their company. She's going to be staying with the 326th until their company is sent off the line. I need you to keep an eye on her, be here guardian while she's with us. Think you can do that?"

The blonde-haired guy nodded. He reached over and shook Chuck and Tab and Doc Roe's hands.

"She'll be in good hands," he said to them. "I'm no stranger to lookin' after the little ones. I have a few siblings back home."

"Thank you," Doc Roe said.

I tugged on Doc Roe's sleeve. "I don't wanna stay here," I whispered to him, real quiet. "I'm scared."

"We'll be comin' back for you," he answered. His voice was real quiet and calm. "These people, they're good. They're medics like me. They're going to take real good care of you."

I started to feel my tears coming back. I looked at Chuck and Tab, too. "Are you going to be okay?"

Chuck smiled. "Just fine," he told me. "We'll be just fine, Charlie, don't you worry."

Tab got down to my level with one of his knees in the mud. He took something from around his neck that looked like it was supposed to be a scarf, but when he unrolled it, it was a huge square. It was all different colors of green and it blended in with their uniforms.

"You know what this is?" he asked. I shook my head no. "It's a piece of a parachute, from when we landed in Normandy. Why don't you…why don't you hang onto it for me, 'til we get back to England, huh? Would you like that?"

I nodded to tell him yes. Tab put it against his knee and folded it into a triangle a couple of times. Then, he got up, and he tied it so it was around my neck real pretty. It felt soft and smooth, and it made me feel important. I felt kinda like a paratrooper again. It was awfully nice of Tab to give me some of his parachute to keep for awhile.

I sniffled. "Thanks," I said, still very quiet.

"We better get moving, fellas," Chuck said. "We'll see you soon, Charlie."

I gave each of them a hug, but I didn't want to let them go. But I guess I had to, because they were paratroopers and they had to be in battles and protect people. I think they would get in trouble with Lieutenant if I decided to keep them. They said goodbye and I felt really sad when I watched them walking away. I hoped they would be back very soon and I wouldn't have to stay here for very long.

"So, your name is Charlie?" the blonde-haired soldier said.

"Mmhmm." I said.

"Around here they call me Quinn," he said.

Well, that was a name I probably never heard a lot. Maybe it was a nickname, like Tab used. Anyway, I think I liked the sound of it. And Quinn was a nicer looking man, not mean at all. Maybe we would be good friends pretty soon.

But I still missed Easy Company.

"Are you hungry, Charlie?" Quinn asked me. I thought about it. I had a little bit of chocolate on the way over here, but now my belly was kinda rumbling at me.

"A little bit."

"All right, then," he said. He had a handsome smile. "Let's see if we can find you something to eat."

I held onto Quinn's hand and we walked away. I looked back one more time, but Tab and Chuck and Doc Roe were gone. I had no idea where Lieutenant and Easy Company were going. I hoped they would be okay.


End file.
